I don't blame the second half swoon (perhaps I should say collapse instead of swoon... swoon seems to be reserved for the exclusive use by SCSU) by the Sioux last year on the loss of David Hale. Although having him would have helped, the major problem was scoring goals. 4 goals for the weekend at CC, 2 goals in the loss at Tech, 4 goals for the weekend at Denver, 1 goal in one of the losses at Mankato, 1 goal in the loss to UMD at the Final 5, and 2 goals vs Ferris in the NCAA. Sure, many of those losses were tight games and having Hale back there would have helped. But just like the Gophers woes early this year can't be blamed much on the losses in their D-Corps, the Sioux can't place much blame for last season's nose dive on Hale... he was only one player.
But that was then, and I guess we have all tried to diagnose what happened. Let's enjoy this year's team... they're good.